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Homeowner's policies are designed for residential – not business – risks, so it's no surprise that coverage for business personal property is minimal – typically $ 2,500 at home and $ 250 away. Also, there is usually a complete exclusion for business data – both on paper and electronic media. The definition of business in…

Homeowner's policies are designed for residential – not business – risks, so it's no surprise that coverage for business personal property is minimal – typically $ 2,500 at home and $ 250 away. Also, there is usually a complete exclusion for business data – both on paper and electronic media.

The definition of business in most homeowner's policies clearly includes your regular job. But does it include part-time jobs, home nursing, or summer lawn jobs? Unfortunately, that's subject to interpretation. Because the policies are vague, the courts have gotten involved: They're defined business, as used in homeowner's policies, to mean an activity that both earns revenue and is continuous.

So, a once-a-year garage sale would not be a business. But my friend Bobbie's garage sales, which she's connected out of her garage for the whole neighborhood, once a month for 20 years, may be a business, and the $ 2,500 limit would apply. Similarly, your 12-year-old son's use of your $ 600 lawnmower to do a few summer lawn jobs probably is not a business because it's not continuous. But your 18-year-old son's $ 10,000 investment in landscaping equipment, dropped on a utility trailer and used year round, may be a business.

If you have an incidental home office (with a desk, filing cabinet, computer, fax, and so on) and you telecommute from your regular job, you're also subject to the business-property limits of the policy.

If the business property coverage that comes with your homeowner's policy (typically $ 2,500) is enough to replace all you own or use at home and you never take for-business items off-promises, you're set. Just remember to read your policy and make sure you know what the dollar limit is.

If some of the business property at your home is owned by your employer and furnished for your use, see if your employer is covering it already or can cover it. You will not need supplementary insurance if the items are already covered.

If you own substantially more than $ 2,500 worth of business property, or take more than $ 250 worth of business property away from home, or if you have a lot of business data at risk, here are some things you can do:

If you have more than $ 2,500 at risk at home, increase your business property on-premiums coverage high enough to cover your exposure.

If you take more than $ 250 worth of business property out of your home, try to reduce the risk by taking less. Home insurers seldom offer an option to buy a higher limit. If they do, it's pretty pricey. The one exception is laptop computers. If you own a laptop, you can avoid the $ 250 limit by scheduling the laptop – a strategy I recommend for every laptop owner. Be sure to include a business-use endorsement and get special perils coverage, because computers can be easily damaged through a variety of causes. The cost is only about $ 5 per $ 1,000 of coverage, with no deductible.

If you have business data at risk, the best strategy is to back up your data. Sure, you can buy optional data coverage when you schedule a computer, but re-creating lost data is such a hassle! You're better off backing up and storing a copy of the backup away from home.

Collecting – anything from baseball cards to bottle caps, from coins to comic books, from stamps to sterling silver – is all the rage and has been for years. But this type of property has insurance pitfalls. In this section, I show you how to protect yourself from the pitfalls, case-by-case. Coins, money, and more…

Collecting – anything from baseball cards to bottle caps, from coins to comic books, from stamps to sterling silver – is all the rage and has been for years. But this type of property has insurance pitfalls. In this section, I show you how to protect yourself from the pitfalls, case-by-case.

Coins, money, and more

We all want to collect money – the more of it, the merrier! What you need to know is that your homeowner's policy wants nothing to do with your money – or almost nothing. The policy has a dollar limit on money, typically $ 200. That's $ 200 for everything – not just what's in your wallet. If it even looks, tastes, or smells like money, it's included in the $ 200 limit – for example, banknotes, bullion, gold, silver, platinum, coins (including coin collections), and medals.

Yes, you can increase the $ 200 policy limit, or, in some cases, schedule collections – for a fortune in premiums, but I never recommend either strategy because because your loss is nearly impossible. (Imagine losing that wonderful coin collection. Now imagine proving to the adjuster the exact coins you had, what their condition was, and the current value of each.)

If you insist on keeping any money collectibles at home, my suggestion is to hide your collection very well. Strongly consider installing a central burglar alarm or a home safe. If neither approach is an option for you, put the money items in a safe-deposit box, where they are not insured but where the theft risk is extremely remote.

Stamps and valuable papers

Another item insurers do not want to cover is anything valuable contained on a piece of paper. They'll cover the blank paper – they just do not want to cover what's on the paper. So the homeowner's policy has another dollar limit, usually about $ 1,000 for this type of property. Stamp collections are a good example. Some other examples include manuscripts, passports, tickets, letters of credit, and deeds.

Yes, you can raise the dollar limit on this type of property. You can even schedule stamps, but I do not recommend it. Prevention is better. Getting a safe-deposit box is a good option. Some of my clients have installed in-home fireproof safes to protect their stamps or valuable papers.

Make sure your safe can not be removed from your home. It should be built into the wall or floor.

People used to collect just stamps, or coins, or art. These days, anything goes: CDs, books, antique toy trains, soldiers, Barbie dolls, baseball cards, comic books, miniature Christmas villages, porcelain dolls, teddy bears, and Beanie Babies. Some people even collect old insurance policies! The largest problems with collections are documentation and valuation: proving what you…

The largest problems with collections are documentation and valuation: proving what you had and putting a value on it. If you have a claim, every policy has a requirement that you make a detailed inventory of what you lost. It's a nightmarish task.

Say a fire destroyed your 2,000-card baseball card collection and you're asked for an inventory from the claims adjuster. You spend days putting together your list. Now, how do you value it? The value of each card will fluctuate wildly, depending on condition. Because your collection is destroyed, how do you prove to the adjuster that your 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie card was the mint one worth $ 12,500 and not the bent, folded, crinkled one worth $ 75? The burden of proof is on you. If you can not prove condition, you'll probably end up getting paid for average cards when many of yours were mint.

To get what you deserve for your collections at claim time, you need to:

Document every item to prove its existence for the claims inventory and to prove its condition for the valuation.

Authenticate the originality of items whose value depends on their originality.

Make sure your policy limit on belongings is high enough to cover all your collectibles and all other normal personal property.

Make sure that the kinds of losses that can damage your collections (breakage for porcelain dolls, water damage for baseball cards, and so on) are covered.

Here are suggestions that will allow you to do all of this and still keep it simple:

an insurer whose policy does not have these dollar limits. Most do not.

Do not schedule collections and spend a lot of money on appraisals if the values ​​can change quickly, making your schedule obsolese overnight. Here are two exceptions to this rule:

If you need breakage coverage

If the values ​​are high-end and dependent on proof of authenticity.

If you do schedule, insist on the fine arts form so at claim time the insurer has to pay out the scheduled amount regardless of current value.

Take a close-up photographic inventory. A digital or video camera works best for extensive collections like books, comic books, or sports cards. You can probably film your whole collection in one sitting. (It's also easy – and cheap – to add to your collection grows.) Then at claim time, you can make up your inventory of what you lost from the photos. The photos will also document the condition. Be sure to store photos away from home!

If any or all of your collection's value depends on proving authenticity or mint condition, get an appraisal just once that does so. Store the appraisal off-premises with the photos. A signed statement from a creditor dealer works fine. To enhance the appraisal, consider attaching an individual photo.

Buy the optional special perils contents coverage for the broadest possible coverage on your collection (if you do not schedule).

Determine the approximate value of your collection, add it to the estimated value of your blessings, and raise your coverage C personal property limit as needed.

Do whatever you can to reduce the risk of loss to your collections. For example:

Do not store moisture-sensitive collections, like old record collections, in a damp basement where they can warp (as I'm currently doing) or be subject to water damage. Instead, seal them in airtight,

plastic zipper bags. (This works well for comic books, too.)

Put breakables out of the flow of traffic and, ideally, in protective storage – cabinets or trunks.

If you follow these suggestions, especially the one about having a photographic inventory, your satisfaction on any claim incorporating a collection will improve substantively. If you do nothing at all, you'll have a major hassle and get paid less than you deserve.

Because the value of fine art and antiques is based both on authenticity and condition, good documentation is essential. Can you imagine owning an original Picasso worth $ 2 million, having no documentation, and trying to get that amount from the insurance adjuster after it's stolen? Another problem common to fine art and antiques is…

Because the value of fine art and antiques is based both on authenticity and condition, good documentation is essential. Can you imagine owning an original Picasso worth $ 2 million, having no documentation, and trying to get that amount from the insurance adjuster after it's stolen?

Another problem common to fine art and antiques is valuation. Replacing this type of property typically is not even possible. What is the replacement cost of a Picasso? What's the replacement cost of your antique, hand-carved table? Even if it can be replaced with a new, identical table, does not its historical value often absent – sometimes far exceeded – the value of a new table?

Because replacement cost coverage just does not apply to these types of items, most insurance policies now settle these losses for the market value at the time of the loss. That's good news for you. The bad news is that the burden of documenting what you have falls entirely on your shoulders. Yet another difficulty with insuring this kind of property is that the value can increase while your coverage remains static, especially if you schedule the items. With each passing year, your coverage becomes more and more uniquate.

So, how can you solve the problems of documenting and valuing your fine arts and antiques, and still be protected against under-insurance due to inflation? You can choose between two methods of insurance: scheduling or not scheduling.

Scheduling is the strategy used and recommended exclusively by the insurance industry for insuring this type of property. It requires you to document what you have at the time you insure it by providing a reliable assessment and, often, a photograph. The item is then scheduled for the estimated amount and an extra premium is charged.

Here are the advantages of scheduling your fine art and antiques:

The documentation problem is resolved in advance of any claim. Items in the schedule are valued at their market value.

Most insurers – for fine art only – include agreed amount coverage (meaning, they pay you the scheduled amount for a theft or total loss with no value argument).

You have the option to add breakage of glass and other fragile items to the schedule. If breakage is a big concern, scheduling the item with breakage coverage is the best course of action.

Scheduling leaves you vulnerable to the inflation problem, unless you're willing to incur the time, expense, and hassle of new appraisals almost every year.

The second insurance strategy is one I devised for my clients in order to resolve the inflation problem without the hassle and expense of new appraisals. It has three parts and works only if your home owner's policy has no dollar limits on paintings, collectibles, and antiques. Very few home owner's policies have a dollar limit on these items, but be sure to check yours just in case.

Here are the three parts:

Buy the optional special perils coverage endorsements for your personal property. It raises your total homeowner's cost about 10 percent to 15 percent and gives you coverage for any accidental loss, except for a few exclusions. It covers losses not covered by a basic homeowner's policy, like paint spills on the antique rug or piano, water damage to your paintings or antiques from a roof leak, and so on. It has very broad coverage – not only on fine arts and antiques, but for all your other belongings as well.

Increase your total homeowner's limit for Coverage C – personal property – high enough to cover all these valuables as well as all your other personal property. Most homeowner's policies, in a total loss, do not have enough contents coverage to pay for all these treasures and all your other belongings.

Get photos of everything and appraisals on all items where authenticity is vital to a claim settlement. Store the photos away from home, at work or in a safe-deposit box. If you do not follow through on storing this critical documentation off-promises, this strategy will fail you and you'll be extremely disappointed at claim time.

With this method, you do not need to get regular appraisals. When you do have a claim and need a current evaluation to document the claim value, you bring your original appraisals with the photos to a dealer or appraiser. A hidden benefit of this method: The cost of the valuation is completely paid for by the insurance company as a claims-adjusting expense!

For high-end pieces (for example, expensive paintings), especially if you can get your appraiser to agree to send you annual value updates, I recommend scheduling. Scheduling fine arts makes for a far easier claim settlement, with no arguments about value, as opposed to not scheduling, where you must prove the authenticity and value of what you lost.

For glassware or other highly-fragile items, including antique glass, I recommend scheduling if you want breakage coverage. Remember to add optional breakage coverage to the policy when you schedule.

For most other treasures, I recommend the three-part plan – but only if you faithfully keep the necessary documentation away from home.

If you have any kind of property that's quite valuable and could be stolen, like jewelry or fine paintings, install a central burglar-and-fire alarm. Installation costs are often $ 200 or less. The monthly cost to monitor the alarm is about $ 30. You reduce the risk of losing an irreplaceable treasure, and you receive 10 percent to 20 percent off your homeowner's bill.

Many home business owners have offices full of computers and equipment. If you operate a franchise out of your home, you may have a garage or basement full of inventory. If you're an attorney, you have client files that contain vital information. What types of business property does your business have? Make up an inventory…

Many home business owners have offices full of computers and equipment. If you operate a franchise out of your home, you may have a garage or basement full of inventory. If you're an attorney, you have client files that contain vital information.

What types of business property does your business have? Make up an inventory of your equipment as I take you through the following checklist. Next to each item, list your best guess as to its current replacement cost, if you had to buy it new today.

Office furniture and equipment: The majority of home businesses have at least some office equipment. Beside the usual desk, chair, and telephone, you may have a packing cabinet, a copy machine, a fax machine, or a scanner.

Computers: Almost all home businesses have computers. But be sure to include on your list not just the computer but also all peripherals – mouse, keyboard, printer, modem, wireless router, cables, and other hardware. Include software on your list if you do not keep off-site duplicates.

Inventory – owned and non-owned: If you keep inventory on your promises – either in your house or in a detached structure – you need to add it to your list of risks. Set the value on your list at your peak inventory limit. Even if you do not own the inventory but you're holding it on consignment, you still may be liable for it. Check your supplier contract to see which responsibility it is. If it's yours, add the peak values ​​to your list under non-owned inventory.

Supplies: Supplies are easy to overlook. They include things like business cards, business stationery, staplers, computer paper, and, of course, the caffeineine tablets you take to help you stay conscious during your 80-hour workweek. I recommend setting this value at $ 2,000 (at a minimum).

Accounts receivable: This risk represents the estimated lost revenue from your inability to collect old receivables when your records are destroyed. Put this on your list only if you are not willing to store backups, made at least weekly, off-promises.

Away from home – in transit, in storage, and shipping: Because homeowner's policies cover business property away from home for much less (typically a $ 250 limit) than they cover items when the items are at your home, having a separate category on your list for property away from home is important. In transit means items you take with you, such as laptop computers, attaché cases, or sales samples. In storage means stuff like the old files and excess equipment I keep in off-site storage; you may keep inventory or other items in storage. Shipping can be incoming, outgoing, or both. If both, have a separate value for each on your list. Even if you're currently running insurance through the shipper, enter a value here anyway. You may be able to reduce your shipping insurance costs by arranging the insurance on a bulk basis if you do a lot of shipping.

What makes personal accident insurance coverage particularly different is that it encompasses risks that people consider most important to them. Technically defined as the type of insurance coverage or policy that covers the policy holders for physical injuries that arise directly as a result of an unfortunate accident causing disabilities or even death, thus making…

What makes personal accident insurance coverage particularly different is that it encompasses risks that people consider most important to them. Technically defined as the type of insurance coverage or policy that covers the policy holders for physical injuries that arise directly as a result of an unfortunate accident causing disabilities or even death, thus making a personal accident injury a very important type of policy to have. This particular type of insurance coverage different from Medicaid plans and life insurance in the sense that it provides coverage for the certain gray areas that are included in the former two insurance coverage that are stated. An example of such a difference is the fact that a personal accident insurance policy holder will be covered for handicaps, permanent or temporary disability caused by accidents and will also provide loss of income coverage due to the holder's disability, and these are things that Medicaid plans nor life insurance policies can provide for their policy holders.

Such an insurance policy will also be able to provide coverage for physical injuries or damages that came as a result of circumstances which most life insurance policies do not cover such as air and rail accidents, terrorist attacks and earthquakes. Another benefit is that this particular kind of insurance is also very convenient to get since it provides instant coverage, meaning you do not need to have medical examinations and policy holders are also offered with worldwide coverage. There are also customized packages that are available based on your risk assessments as well as the amount of money that you have insured. Another great thing about personal accident insurance is that it is particularly very easy to process and does not require a lot of documentation to be submitted. This is a great improvement compared to other insurance policies, a perfect example is that the insurance coverage does not require any medical bills when people are filing for their claims.

Another benefit of having such insurance coverage is that the policies are specifically flexible, which provides the policy holder with specific benefits that involves hospitalization, reimbursements and extra payments in order to further suit your preferences or your needs, the principal policy holder suffer from permanent disability or even death, all the dependent children are entitled to full educational grants and family packages can be provided with twenty percent discounts. And there is one other thing that a personal accident insurance policy can provide and one that is not offered by other insurance policies, and that is the ability to offer a fixed amount of payment every day for one whole year. And it would also help if you can take your time to review your options for insurance coverage first before you commit yourself to anything.

The best method to find budget car insurance these days is by making use of the internet. Many companies these days are offering budget insurance quotes which can help you a lot to locate great rates on your car insurance. The total rate which you will pay is dependent on many factors, so the ideal…

The best method to find budget car insurance these days is by making use of the internet. Many companies these days are offering budget insurance quotes which can help you a lot to locate great rates on your car insurance. The total rate which you will pay is dependent on many factors, so the ideal way to learn and identify how much a budget car insurance will amount to is to complete the form and provide as much required information as possible. Although it is indeed possible to get quotes without needing to give out any personal information, the best quotes would require some of these personal information because there are certain things and information which can change or make a difference when it comes to getting the total amount of the insurance premium you would need to pay for.

Many insurance providers, even including those which offers budget car insurance make use of a rating system in order to identify the amount customers would need to pay for their car insurance. These rating systems take a look at your personal information, your driving records, where you park your car in the evenings as well as the vehicle you drive to find out just how much you will pay for your insurance. In other words, the vehicle budget insurance providers find out the risk of a driver or vehicle to meet an accident based on these factors that are used in the rating system. The higher risk a person or applicant is, the more he or she will pay for the insurance coverage he or she wants to get. So if you encountered several accidents in the past you can expect to get a higher rate the those who have not had road accidents in the past and if you park in places where you practically beg car thieves to boost your vehicle, expect to pay more for car insurance than those who park their vehicles in secure areas at night.

And there are a few things you can do to make sure that you obtain the most affordable rates on budget car insurance. The first is that you need to study defensive driving. People who know defensive driving are always looking out for the other drivers on the road and they often can find ways to avoid accidents, even if they would not be the ones at fault. A second tip to keep budget insurance low for your car is to understand and follow the traffic laws as well as the rules of the road. Driver who often disobey these rules get in a lot of trouble and accidents, which mars their driving records, making them a huge insurance risk.

If you have a laptop then thinking about laptop insurance might be sensible. A policy may typically provide cover against theft, accidental damage or destruction and breakdowns outside of the manufacturer's warranty period. Loss typically is not covered, so, try to not lose it! If your laptop is stolen or damaged so badly that it…

If you have a laptop then thinking about laptop insurance might be sensible.

A policy may typically provide cover against theft, accidental damage or destruction and breakdowns outside of the manufacturer's warranty period. Loss typically is not covered, so, try to not lose it!

If your laptop is stolen or damaged so badly that it can not be repaired, the policies of some insurers may guarantee you a replacement within 48 hours. That is potentially a very useful timesaving facility.

Some laptop insurance policies also provide cover for your laptop if you have it overseas with you, be it on business or pleasure. That may give you that extra bit of pace of mind when you are abroad.

As with any insurance product, terms and conditions, exclusions and limitations will apply and you may wish to read these carefully to ensure you understand them.

Some policies may not cover theft if your laptop is left unattended. Others may do so providing that you have locked the laptop securely away.

If you are considering lending your laptop to someone, it might be a very good idea to check the conditions of your laptop insurance first. Some policies may not cover problems that arise if your laptop is in someone else's possession.

Cover against breakdowns only once the manufacturer's warranty has expired. If you have a problem during the warranty period, this will typically be treated with a combination of the retailer and manufacturer.

Insurance policies of many forms carry what is called the excess. That is usually an amount of money that you will have to donate towards the total amount of any future claim. You may find excess on laptop policies also.

Some policies may provide up to 3GB of data storage space on the insurance providers system. That can be used to store some of your critical data that you could restore in the event your laptop had to be replaced. It may help get you back to normality as fast as possible.

Of course, only you can really decide whether or not a laptop policy would benefit you.

However, considering the price of new laptops, deciding to do without insurance might be best described as being a brave decision.

Laptop insurance is typically modestly priced and easy to take out. If nothing else, it may be worth finding out a little bit more about it.

If you have had your iPad for a while and it is not protected, you may wish to think about used iPad insurance. Even if you've had your iPad for a few months, you will typically still be able to get the iPad insurance cover. What does used iPad cover? Such insurance typically offers protection…

If you have had your iPad for a while and it is not protected, you may wish to think about used iPad insurance. Even if you've had your iPad for a few months, you will typically still be able to get the iPad insurance cover.

What does used iPad cover?

Such insurance typically offers protection again some of the risks that an owner of an iPad may encounter. These may or may not include all or some of the following:

You may also benefit from a guaranteed 48-hour replacement of your iPad once your claim has been accepted, as well as cover for use outside of the UK.

Of course, as with any insurance product, terms and conditions, exclusions and limitations will apply and you may wish to read these carefully to ensure you understand them.

However, things may be slightly different if you have a used iPad.

Insurers may only provide used iPad insurance if your device is under a certain age – the exact details of which will typically be specified in the policy details prior to your purchase.

For example, some insurers may not insure electronic devices that are over 36 months old. Others may have far shorter periods but the key message is that you need to check the documentation carefully.

Remember that if you do need to make a claim, generally you may need to produce evidence of the date of your purchase with the original purchase receipt. Theft claims will usually require a crime reference number from the Police etc. So do make sure you know exactly what your obligations may be in the event of you needing to claim on your insurance for iPad by reading through the policy word.

If you want to use iPad insurance, you may find that such documentation will be more important to you than the fine detail of the price you are paying.

You may need all the help you can get to balance your budget – so it would be understandable if that advertisement for cheap iPad insurance really done your eye. The magnetism of cheap There is no real reason why you should not be interested in such ads. Cost is a major factor in our…

You may need all the help you can get to balance your budget – so it would be understandable if that advertisement for cheap iPad insurance really done your eye.

The magnetism of cheap

There is no real reason why you should not be interested in such ads. Cost is a major factor in our regular purchase decisions and insurance is no exception to that.

However, before diving in, it may be worth thinking a little about what exactly this may mean in terms of your quality of cover.

Everybody is unique

Your iPad may be identical to many others but the way you live your life and use your iPad will be unique to you.

What that means is that your risk profiles may well be different to somebody else's and as a result, the cover you need may also be different.

In terms of the cost side of insurance what this means is simple – what is cheap and suitable for someone else may not be entirely suitable for you, whether it is cheap iPad insurance or not.

The cover

As with any insurance product, terms and conditions, exclusions and limitations will apply and you may wish to read these carefully to ensure you understand them.

However, some policies will be able to provide you with financial protection against the worst effects of:

your iPad being stolen;

it breaking down outside of the manufacturer's warranty period;

it being badly damaged or destroyed in an accident.

Even if you find something described as cheap iPad insurance that offers all of the above, you may also wish to see if it also:

offers a guaranteed 48-hour replacement of the iPad once your claim has been accepted;

will cover you if you have taken your iPad overseas;

provides 3GB of data storage so that you can protect some of your most critical data and get back to normal a fast as possible once you have your replacement iPad.

Clauses and conditions

Some insurance advertised as cheap may carry a large excess (the amount you will have to contribute towards any future claim.

In other words, it is important to look just as carefully at what the policy is not offering as much as it is to check what it is covering.

So, appealing as cheap iPad insurance may be as a concept, it is worth looking closely at the detail.